A farmer in central Hawke's Bay says locals are excited the Ruataniwha dam has been given resource consents.
The site of the proposed dam. Photo: RNZ
The Board of Inquiry released a draft report on Tuesday that gives resource consents for the dam in Hawke's Bay, which could irrigate 25,000 hectares.
Richard Dakins runs a 350 hectare farm, which is largely arable but has a bit of trading stock and dairy grazing over the winter.
He says it's a real positive that the scheme has essentially gained resource consent and it's now time to look for farmers to sign up.
"The key thing now is to get the message out there and get people to look openly at the scheme and the positives that can come through it. And how they can work it within their farming business to create an opportunity for themselves and the flow on effects for the wider community really," Mr Dakins says.
Dam viability not certain
Hawke's Bay Regional Council says it could be weeks before it knows whether the Ruataniwha Dam is still viable under the resource consents granted on Tuesday.
The Board of Inquiry placed strict water quality conditions on the resource consents because the irrigation project is expected to encourage more agriculture.
The Council says some fundamental hurdles still need to be cleared before it can decide whether the $600 million project remains viable.
Chief executive of the council-run Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company Andrew Newman says it is examining the 700-page decision to see if it has what is known as an operable consent.
"Can farming enterprises intensify their operations, do so within the regulatory limits set and also undertake that sort of conversion process and run it profitably?"
Fish and Game New Zealand says the consent conditions promote both sustainable agriculture and environmental protection, and it is very pleased with the result.
It says the strict conditions mean the Tukituki river could sustain life despite intensification of agriculture from the dam.
Fish and Game freshwater ecologist Corina Jordan says it means farming needs to manage both nitrogen and phosphorus to ecological limits, not toxic limits.
However, Forest and Bird advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell says the conditions have not been adequately justified and the board has not gone far enough in identifying the issues for irrigation.
Mr Hackwell doubts the dam will go ahead, but is worried that if it does, it will be realised too late down the track that it will not let the Tukituki River survive.
No worries for minister
Green Party co-leader Russell Norman has condemned the decision to grant the consents, saying it will result in a massive intensification of dairy farming, and downstream river pollution.
He says the legislation underpinning the Environmental Protection Authority must change.
However, Conservation Minister Nick Smith says he has no major concerns about the decision.
"The preliminary advice I have had from my Department of Conservation officials is that the board has done a thorough job of all of the environmental issues and that they have no significant concerns about the conclusions that they have come to," he says.
